Burning Fires
by Fluffy Otters
Summary: A dark what if story, set after Episode 26 of TDWT. What if he could not forgive her for what she did to him...character death and torture


Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN the Total Drama Franchise or any other associated characters. No matter how much I want to, I still don't.

Author's Note: Spoilers for Episode 26 of Total Drama World Tour if you haven't seen it. Also, a very dark approach to what happens afterwords...I know it's not going to happen and I sure hope it doesn't but it is a 'what if?'...Inspired by The Dark Knight, Saw (kind of theme), Phantom of the Opera (not technically a horror movie but it does have a lot of the elements and the Phantom does kill without feeling and wears a mask to hide his damaged face), and other random horror movies. I also don't own those.

He swam in a pool of agony and every part of him hurt all over. After a while, it seemed like he had been there forever. How there had once been a time that he hadn't seemed impossible. That was another life, a life he barely remembered, in between the bouts of agony and blessed darkness that overcame him. He wanted to sink into the darkness, the comfort and cold it gave. It was…peaceful. He had always heard there was a light that lead you to the afterlife. That is wrong. All there is a blessed darkness, the eternal sleep he wanted badly but something kept him here in this dreaded form, unable to detach. He was consigned to endless agony and he cursed whoever it was that kept him alive. They should have let him die, he wanted to die. The pain, it was too much. A terrible pain that stemmed from everywhere.

Eventually, the pain started to recede. When it first happened, he was too shocked to notice that it was beginning to die down after what felt like an eternity. Soon however it started to recede noticeably and he found himself conscious to connected disjointed things. Doctors in white lab coats bending around his table, annoying beeps of machinery, the overpowering cloying smell of flowers that he despised. He was visited a couple times by strangers. Chris came and had him sign something, he wasn't sure what. Something to do with absolving the show of responsibility or something. He didn't really care. He only wanted one person to show up, waiting for her. She never showed up. Soon the pain that had plagued him was fully gone but it was a pain to move much and he could barely talk above a choked harsh grating sound. His vocal chords had been permanently damaged breathing in the sulfuric air. He tried to avoid looking at himself as much as possible. He could see the burn scars and discoloration all over his body. He looked like a poorly patched up broken doll, barely held together. The burns mocked him, reminding him of everything he lost. Once upon a time he had been beautiful but now he was a burned wreck of the person he once had been. He resented the doctors for saving him, if this was all he had to look forward to for the remainder of his life. At least if he had died, he would have died trying to achieve something amazing but instead he was yanked back to this poor shell only to find out he had nothing left. His father came and disowned him for being an embarrassment and the visits from his brothers weren't much better. They pitied him. That was even worse because he did not want their pity. To be remembered as the ugly one, one who had failed, that was intolerable. He hated them all. Why couldn't they let him die?

The doctors told him that there was nothing they could really do to fix him. They tried their best but the burn damage was so extreme that it was a miracle he survived and hadn't lost his skin entirely. It wasn't a miracle, it was a curse. The sight of it drove a pulsing anger through him as well as disgust at watching his body fall apart around him. It was gross watching giant wads of discolored dead skin cells peel off and fall off him, almost every time he made a move. The doctors gave him some new synthetic stuff but it didn't feel right and clashed badly with his somehow still unburned original skin. He refused to even consider what his face looked like. He knew it was bad because he could feel the squishiness touching it. They gave him face surgery and restructured his face but he knew there was only so much you can fix with today's technology. He supposed in a future time they would be able to give him a new face or body completely but that wasn't now. He wondered what the doctors thought when they looked at him. Were they disgusted at this miserable creature that was in this bed as well? He had once been human and had a name and a life. Now he could really care less. It was funny how things that had once seemed so important ceased to hold any interest for him. The only things he were still obsessed with were his now hideously deformed self and wondering what he could have done different. He did much thinking on these two things. He had a lot of free-time after all since few people came to visit and he couldn't do much. He wondered where she was. He had expected her to come visit him but she never did. He even humbled himself enough to ask the doctors if she had ever come. The answer had been no. He had been shocked, expecting at least a little something. He didn't know what he expected but something more than nothing. She didn't even try! That stung him, stung him where he assumed his heart was. Didn't she care? Didn't she care at all that she hurt him, that she caused him to become like this? How could she do this, ignore him over and over again? He had loved her, once upon a time. However, the pain of his burning body burned that from him. Now he just felt empty. But for her not to care about him at all? That was crossing the line! He felt a spark of anger for a second at the thought and stopped, surprised. The last time the thought of anything caused him to feel anything but disgust, self-hate, or total apathy was a very long time in his view. Before the accident, before the betrayal. He thought again of her, the girl that had stolen his heart and caused him to stupidly offer everything for her. She caused him to act foolish and took his pride, manliness, and everything else. And it still wasn't enough. She distracted him and took his focus off the goal. In the end, he lost everything and she laughed. She laughed! He hadn't known it then still love struck and dazed after the kiss. The best kiss of his life in fact, he swore he felt sparks. But he supposed that was just him. Once she had enough, she pushed him off and then the blasted volcano exploded.

They left him behind. No one bothered or cared to come back for him except Chris the Jerk. The lava had washed over him and it burned. He had temporarily gone primitive for a moment, all rational thought wiped out of him. All he knew was to make it stop. Chris catches him and took him to the hospital, to avoid the potential impending lawsuit. It was real touch and go for a while and they hadn't had much hope for him living, which made his surviving such a shocker. But again, he would much rather preferred to have been let go because when the painkillers weren't active, the pain had come and it was extreme. But now that it was over, he thought a lot about what had just happened. And he came to only one startling conclusion. It was all her fault, of course. If she hadn't pushed him away, he would have never fallen all the way down and forgotten about. Instead, when the volcano exploded, he could have been the first to get away since he as so much faster and stronger than many of those other people. Instead, they trampled him and didn't bother to help him and while dazed, the lava got to him. He offered her his heart and love and she threw it back at him in his face, just so she could win some stupid prize money. For him, it had never been about money. His family was so wealthy that the money was really miniscule. Sure, he wouldn't have minded winning and making his own money and being his own person, but what he really wanted was to be famous and known, far more than his other family members. That was pretty hard to do considering he was related to famous soccer players, hypnotists, politicians, ambassadors and so on but when he found out about Total Drama, he knew he had to be a participant. Worldwide tv is an excellent medium and it was quite a popular show. Winning that would give him fame and glory beyond recognition. Who cares if his strategy was a little manipulating and involved a couple betrayals? They fell for it and he did not pressure them into doing anything they didn't already want to. In fact, he did them all favors. But did they appreciate that? No they did not! Especially her…playing with her had been fun. Smart, intelligent, fiery, beautiful, she was everything he liked and he fell in love with her.

The game was still fun of course, even after falling for her. After all, he had to show her who was the superior one. But that doesn't mean he didn't like her. When she got into trouble, he always helped her out. When she was trapped under a rock, he pulled her out and he even stopped his victory win to find out what she wanted more. He should have known better. The first time she really betrayed him was with the rock. She promised not to vote him out and she still did! Even then he forgave her, because he could never stay mad at her for long and she only did what he would have done to someone else if the situation was reversed and it wasn't her that pulled him out. She was competitive and it only made sense. Maybe she didn't understand what he felt for her, she was very suspicious. Getting to Hawaii was very difficult as he and her kept ending up in the same places, even fate wanted them together, but it was too awkward as she kept running away from him and he still hurt over that betrayal, even if he had forgiven her in his heart. He then proceeded to taunt her, the only way he knew how to respond to the hurt inside him, and compete. But after struggling up that volcano and about to win, she made her way up and put on a show. It was a pathetic sight and he felt sorry for her, against all his better instincts. He should have listened. But instead he tried to find out what was worth more and she answered alright...after a wonderful kiss for him, she kicked him and pushed him off. She valued the money more than him. It took him quite a while to realize that, after endless suffering and agony in limbo between life and death but now that the pain was gone, he could see clearly. She never loved him and it wasn't worth it. She didn't love him, wasn't sorry, and never cared a whit about him. He considered ending it himself for a second, but after the thought of her face leering in triumph after finding out he offed himself infuriated him. He would show her who was a winner!

He pushed himself into learning how to walk again. At first a wheelchair, then a cane, he painfully forced himself to become able to walk again. It was painful and there were many times he wanted to cry and give up but all he needed to do was think of her and how she betrayed him and how he could not let her win before he pushed himself to keep going until he physically gave out. It was also helpful that although the pain was horrible and burning, that it wasn't nearly as bad as when splashed by that lava and in that limbo place of endless burning after a large portion of his body suffered hideous burns. In comparison to that, the pain of moving was almost nothing. He just needed to keep those two things in mind. The doctors were quite impressed with his progress. They congratulated him often and used him as a shining example of medicine. Good for them, he didn't mind being an example. All he cared about was what he was going to do after he was able to move normally again. His body was still horribly burned and scarred and his new skin didn't look right but he was beyond caring now. The only thing that mattered was vengeance. Vengeance against all those who hurt him, especially her. But they would all pay. Eventually, he was well enough that he was released from the hospital, with contacts to get new hair and masks and stuff.

Walking, what a miracle it was! It no longer hurt and he almost was back to normal. However, he would never be as fast or as quick as he once had been. His legs had twisted in a weird way when trampled and left him with a permanent limp. No matter, he was still able. Going into the first store, and scaring most of the customers who all let out gasps of shock when seeing his face, he bought a white face mask. Halloween stores were very useful. The mask completely covered his hideous face and was quite scary indeed, exactly what he needed. He did have a flare for theatrics and this was absolutely perfect. He should have been an actor. Oh well, he'd never be an actor now. He was far too ugly. He next got a wig that covered up his patchy scrabbled head where only parts were burned off and parts remained. He chose a long dark hair color, quite similar to his old hair.

Next he went to clothes stores. He decided that his old style was no longer going to work. He was no longer that person. He was somebody else, a spirit of vengeance. He got very weird looks when he went into the store wearing the white mask but there was no screaming or gasps of surprise like the last store. He chose all black and leather, again owing to his sense of theatrics. Besides, black was a cool color and would allow him to blend into the darkness. The clerks weren't sure whether to allow him to buy or not but after taking his mask off and scaring them, they realized he wasn't a robber and gave him his purchase. Smirking, he put his mask back on and walked out.

Fortunately it was night. Very few people had seen him and those that had would remain silent and try to scurry around him and forget. During the day however, there'd be far too many people. But night is beautiful. Almost no one was around, especially at this time, and he was all around. He wished he could have realized how beautiful it was before. Nonetheless, he began walking in the direction of the first person who was going to suffer. His mouth started salivating at the thought. Oh yes, revenge is fun…

Heather tossed and turned in her bed whimpering. For at least a couple nights now, she had been having the same dream. In the dream, she had for some reason been back on the volcano in Hawaii. But she was all alone. Suddenly a dark fog would roll over the sky, covering everything and from that fog would emerge a creature. It looked vaguely familiar for some reason but it was hideously deformed. Scars and burn marks lacerated the body and it walked with a slight hunch and a limp. She could see patchy hair clumps it tried to keep covered with a black hair wig but slid down as it walked up the slope. For some reason she couldn't move and she was helpless and it walked right up to her. In its eyes, she could only back holes containing nothing. It hissed at her and licked her with a long tongue, tasting her. Then it spoke in a raspy grating voice that made the hair on her stand up in fear.

"Hello Heather…" and then the dream ended with a burning pain and the sound of hideous laughter…

Heather woke up with a start. She did not know why she kept having that dream. All she knew was that as recently as a couple weeks before, she started having daily dreams of that horrible thing and it was the same every night. She even went to a doctor to try to understand why she kept seeing that horrible vision. The doctor had suggested she had something eating at her consciousness and that something was going to happen if she didn't fix it. Utterly ridiculous, of course. Heather didn't believe in dreams, or at least hadn't until this one that kept coming each and every night. All she knew was that something was going to happen and she had a feeling of foreboding and something dark approaching. Something dark and angry, that would love nothing more than to consume her into itself…she was checking everywhere nowadays. She had a feeling she was being followed but whenever she turned her head, no one was there. But she still had a sensation of someone watching her, hunting her, waiting for the right moment to strike. Every shadow became someone or something trying to reach out to her, and every unexpected sound made her heart jump. She barely got any sleep and bags were forming around her eyes. Her parents were worried but didn't know what else to do. Heather wasn't sure either. The stress of everything kept seeming to pile up and she almost wished that something would just happen so she could stop worrying. For some reason, she was also thinking about Alejandro a lot, wondering what happened to him. On the volcano, he asked her a question of what was more important to her, him or the million dollars? She chose the million dollars and when he kissed her, she tolerated it for a few seconds as she puffed up her cheeks and then kneed him as hard as she could. He dropped and she pushed him over the edge of the volcano and she won the money. However, the money was lost when a rabid Zeke attacked her and took the money, just as he fell into a volcano and the money was lost. The volcano erupted and everything was confusion after that. Alejandro disappeared and she had to swim for her life to avoid a giant ball of magma and molten rock flying at her face. But she didn't see Alejandro after that. Whatever did happen to him? Did he survive the explosion? She sure hoped so, he must have. He was Alejandro and could do everything! Surely he didn't die? She couldn't imagine it, him dying. It just didn't fit well in her mind, the thought of that strong hunky utterly gorgeous superman being buried under the ground. No, he had to still be alive, somewhere. She just hoped that he forgave her, forgave her for betraying him after his declaration of love. She had thought it was a trick to mess with her at first. But looking back, it must have been genuine. What would be the point of tricking her then? He had already had the game in hand but he stopped. He checked on her and was concerned. And there was the time with the rock. She had wished it was anyone but him that saved her. Because he would have rubbed it in her face, how he had to save her. She tried to vote him off but Sierra blew up the plane and was kicked off instead.

Alejandro had found out about her voting him off and he was mad. She tried her hardest to avoid him afterward but they kept ending up in the same places so instead she tried to win. On Hawaii, it came down to him and her for the win. In the effigy burning challenge, they had thrown insults at each other and climbing up, they traded more. She found that calling Alejandro 'Al' drove him absolutely crazy. After much struggle, she made her way up the volcano only to see him about to win. She had collapsed in defeat and told him to throw it in. She acted quite pathetic, because she was. He was going to win and she would lose, regardless of how much effort she had put into this game, for three seasons. He stopped and asked her that fateful question. Heather wished she had chosen the other choice, chosen him because it might have prevented what happened afterwards. Instead she chose the money and then Zeke took it and it burned. So not only did she drop Alejandro, she didn't even receive any money! Chris refused to give another million because the suitcase was in her hands and once it passes into the hands of a contestant, it is no longer Total Drama's and is the property of the contestant and should anything happen to the money after someone wins it, it is no longer Total Drama's problem. So she didn't get anything, after all that! Then Chris dumps them for a new cast for a different show and she was consigned to being normal again.

It was funny how fast the fame faded. People didn't care that she was the winner of Total Drama World Tour and those that did remember hated her because she hurt Alejandro. They called her a cheater and a liar. They pointed out that he was in love with her throughout the entire season and was willing to do anything for her and yet she betrayed him in the end. Heather did not argue with that. They were absolutely right. And she regretted it. Regretted that moment with all her heart and soul. She wished she chose otherwise. Maybe instead, she would have had him and they would have been together. He did offer. But now she hadn't heard a word from him and she guessed he hated her. She would hate her too, if she did that to herself. She didn't blame him at all. She just missed him. Especially now when everything was falling apart.

She stepped into the empty room, the end of another miserable day of school. She had fallen asleep in all her classes, received Ds and Fs on things she used to know but couldn't concentrate on anymore, and was avoided like the plague. She didn't know why she still bothered to show up, it's not like anyone would notice the difference. She just didn't know what else to do really and it was a force of habit. Carefully stepping over the rug and removing her shoes, she stepped into the hallways and called out she was home. Instead of getting some response, she heard nothing but the sound of the ticking clock that seemed unnaturally loud in the still silent house. Making her down the hallway, she stopped as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Something was wrong here. She had the sensation of being watched again, of some other presence in her house stalking her. With a sense of dread, she stepped into the kitchen to see…nothing. Everything seemed like it should be. Neat, tidy, and organized. She didn't know what she expected to see: a giant mess left behind by a burglar, some psycho that snuck into her house waiting for someone to walk in the kitchen, her parents hacked up bodies on the floor the blood still dripping? She was being ridiculous. Nothing was wrong. With a shaky sigh of relief, she sat down in a chair, which is why she did not see a shadowy figure emerge from a room behind her and didn't feel the blow before unconsciousness hit her.

When she woke up, she was dazed and her head hurt. She was in a dimly lit room that she had never seen before. Starting to try to get up and figure out where she was and what she was doing her, she stopped in sudden terror as a gravelly grating hacking voice called out to her.

"You don't want to do that. Even the slightest movement can trigger the explosion." She looked down and saw that her hands were tied to a wire set leading to a row of gasoline barrels all around her with wires poking out. She stayed still, hardly daring to move. She didn't want to imagine what would happen if it went off. A figure emerged from the shadows and her terror increased when she saw the hunched limping walk, even before she saw the eyes and the black haired wig. It was just like from her dreams! The creature stood and faced her, a white mask covering its face with only eyeholes peering out from behind the white. The eyes seemed black, endless black, containing nothing but leading down forever and ever. It came towards her and a long tongue poked out and wriggled for a second, licking her. She wanted to shudder in disgust but the threat of the bomb attached kept her still as it licked a dry sandpapery tongue over her. It moved back and let out a low laugh.

"Hello Heather," it said in its gravelly damaged voice. "Did you miss me? Because I sure missed you. I have waited a long time for this moment." It lifted its hands and pulled the mask off and she screamed, screamed loud and long because it was a monstrous face, a face of horror and nightmares. But also because somehow she managed to recognize it, recognize behind the scars and burns the remainder of what had once been a beautiful face. She knew who it was she was facing. She was seeing what had happened to Alejandro after the volcano exploded. It smirked at her, amusement glimmering in its formerly empty and dead eyes.

"So you finally recognize me? Good. This is what you've done to me and you should see your handiwork first hand, before you die and all. This is what happened to me after the volcano exploded. When it came, the others ran over me, pushing me into the sand. No one bothered to help or probably even noticed. But unfortunately, the lava rained down where I was and I was struck by it, burning me horribly. Chris somehow found me and brought me to the hospital, despite my telling him to let me die, so he could avoid a lawsuit. The doctors somehow kept me alive, despite the horrible burning and scarring. But it was painful. You wouldn't believe how much. Do you know what it's like to be on fire? By some miracle, I had survived, despite all the burns and scars and everything else. But I still wanted to die at first. I was just about to end it when it all became suddenly clear to me! You caused it to happen! You betrayed me! You knocked me off the volcano and didn't bother looking for me! You never visited me! You never loved me! You used me! So I realized what I had to do at first. I had been given a second chance, a chance to punish those who had hurt me. Realizing that, I tried my best to live again. I forced myself to learn how to walk again and kept myself alive. You are the final one. After you, my job is over and I will die in peace." The thing that had been Alejandro gave a sickly grin and Heather shuddered.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to betray you! I didn't know what happened to you! I didn't know you had been hurt or that you had been in a hospital! I thought you hated me!" Heather shouted, tears forming in fright. Alejandro scoffed.

"Yeah right. You still betrayed me and you still don't care. The others are finished though. It was wonderful, hearing their cries, begging for mercy as they slowly and painfully died. It was justice enacted, and they deserved it. Their actions brought it on them. Harold broke the fastest and it was satisfying to kill him just to shut the whiner up. He was hardly worth the trouble and didn't die well at all. Cody said goodbye dropped in with some real flesh eating sharks and Owen became chopped liver in a meat grinder. Leshawna kept antagonizing me so I added her as well. She was speared by a wall of spikes. But Noah was the most fun of all, at least before you. His attitude had always sickened me and he never liked me to begin with. I never knew why, he was just a cynical bastard who hated me. So I hated him too. His attitude was quite deplorable and Owen liked him which was enough to recommend him. I used what he had always expected, putting him on the wrack and stretching him out. But you, you are going to receive the punishment that you deserve, the one given to me." He laughed, the dark fury and insanity shining in his dead eyes. "It's what you deserve. Say goodbye Heather…"

"Wait, please don't do it! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just please don't kill me! I loved you and I'm sorry for betraying you, multiple times, and I regret hurting you that way. You never deserved it and I wish I had chosen you!" A wicked smile on Alejandro's face gleamed as sharpened teeth gleam at her dully.

"You're sorry? It's far too late for that." Laughing, he pushes a button and the barrels explode, sending flaming oil everywhere, consuming Heather who becomes a flaming pillar. Her agonized screams last only a few seconds before her body is consumed by the flames and the scent of burning flesh scents the air. Alejandro smirked again.

"Goodbye Heather, it's what you deserved all along. My job is done and now I can rest in peace." Laughing, he walks into the flames and stands there as the flames once again consume him as he turns into burning pyre. The building above rumbled and collapses to the ground, leaving no evidence behind as to what it was that had happened there.


End file.
